One Woman Performance By MilDRED At UH Tonight

TransGriot Note:  Pleasant surprise to discover that MilDRED is living in Houston now.  Always wanted to meet her and finally have the opportunity to do so tonight.   MilDRED Photo by Rita G

The University of Houston Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program in collaboration with the UH Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, UH Womens Resource Center and UH LGBT Resource Center present:

I AM THE ONE I ALWAYS WANTED TO MARRY: A One-Woman Performance by MilDRED Gerestant. (http://www.dredlove.com/)

This thought-provoking performance questions the naturalized binaries of gender and sexuality, while highlighting...the performativity of these categories. Using poetry, music, comedy, and movement, MilDRED expresses the way in which discovering her male persona, DRED, has refashioned the gendered notions of her sexual and spiritual self.

Haitian-American and internationally-known MilDRED is an actress, lecturer, and workshop presenter best known for her mystical one-woman shows.

LOCATION: University of Houston, Dudley Recital Hall, Room 132
ADMISSION: Free

Endorsed by: DiverseWorks, Houston Gendermyn, UH Department of Anthropology, UH Global.

For information contact Sima Shakhsari: sshakhsari@uh.edu

Nikki Araguz Update 20-Nikki's Getting Deposed

Haven't done a Nikki update in a while because there hasn't been much news coming out of the case until today. 


It's Nikki's turn to be deposed by the opposition attorneys in the case.   In our last episode Heather Delgado, the ex-wife of Thomas Araguz who filed this suit was being deposed by Nikki's attorneys.    

Just take a few moments to send her your prayers, positive thoughts and well wishes.

And for you TransGriot readers who want to catch up with what's been happening and what I've posted about the case so far at the blog, here's the link to do so.

2011 Major League Baseball Season Opens

In a few hours major league baseball will begin to be played in stadiums  all across the nation.  The 162 game marathon to determine who will end up in the World Series representing their respective leagues begins.

As always, I'm rooting for my home team, the Houston Astros.   They will start the season being the guests of the defending NL East Division champs the Philadelphia Phillies and the experts not expecting them to be competitive in the NL Central Division..

But change is in the humid air here.  It will not only be a season in which we'll no longer have Roy Oswalt or Lance Berkman in Astro uniforms, the transition to a new core group of Astros players such as Hunter Pence and All Star center fielder Michael Bourn has begun.    The Astros Triple A franchise is now in Oklahoma City and Drayton McLane, the current Astros owner may be in the process of selling the team to a (thank God) Houston businessman..

We won't get our major league season opener here in Houston until April 8 and the Florida Marlins come to take on my fave baseball team at Minute Maid Park.  

But as it does every Opening Day, hope springs eternal in all baseball fans.   Everyone starts 0-0, and with a few breaks, some consistent play and a few long winning streaks interspersed throughout the season who knows?    The Astros have a history of being a second half team and if they can stay close to the division leaders or even get off to a better start than the 0-8 one they did in 2010, they could contend.

Like I said, hope springs eternal in a baseball fan.   Go Astros!

Farewell Statement From MP Bill Siksay

TransGriot Note:  Another one of the bummer moments coming from the recent dissolution of the Canadian parliament is that MP Bill Siksay's retirement from politics becomes official as he announced a few months ago he was not running for reelection in his Burnaby-Douglas riding.

As a ally to the Canadian trans community, he will definitely be missed.     He could teach our GL community in the States a few things about what it means to be an ally to our community.

Here is his parliamentary farewell statement.

Farewell Statement

March 24, 2011

Mr. Bill Siksay (Burnaby—Douglas, NDP): Mr. Speaker, it has been an honour to represent the people of Burnaby—Douglas. As a gay man, it has been an honour to represent the queer community in this place.

    My work here has been possible thanks to that of many other comrades in my offices: Jane Ireland, Sonja van Dieen, Ayesha Haider, Caren Yu and Andrea Emond, Lynn MacWilliam, Corie Langdon, Gillian Chan and many interns. Their professionalism, creativity and service to the community and this institution have been outstanding.

    I am inspired by my leader and caucus and many party activists. I salute my brothers and sisters in my union, CEP 232, for their dedication to ensuring what we desire for ourselves we seek for all. I want to thank the employees of the House of Commons without whom I could not do this job.

    I want to thank my family, my partner Brian Burke, my parents Bill and Pat in what we came to know as the Whitby office, Keith Gilbert, Brad Teeter, Russ Neely and my brother David and his family for their steadfast love and care. I have also been blessed with the best riding association thanks to the commitment and talents of many folks, including Lil Cameron, Lila Wing, Michael Walton, Marianne Bell, Jaynie Clark and Doug Sigurdson.

    I will miss working in solidarity with dedicated people. The transgender and transsexual communities have taught me so much about our humanity and courage. I wish we had a bit more time. I have learned much from peace, anti-war and nuclear disarmament activists, gay and lesbian couples determined to walk through the front door of the important institution of marriage, those detained and working to repeal security certificates, war resisters, local activists on homelessness and poverty, the environment and industrial and transportation safety, animal rights activists, the labour movement and refugees, immigrants and temporary workers and their allies, supporters of CBC Radio Canada and those seeking more open government.

    My predecessor Svend Robinson once remarked that the highest duty of a member of Parliament is love. Love should be our daily agenda, a daring, justice-seeking and tender love. Someday, even here, we will find that path where all we do we do for love.

Sucks To Be Disrespected, Doesn't It Del. Pena-Melnyk?

Was chuckling at the Metro Weekly post featuring Del. Joseline 'You People' Pena-Melnyk complaining about not being seen by Senate president Mike Miller concerning the unjust trans rights bill she 'worked hard' on.

Del. Joseline A. Pena-Melnyk (D-Anne Arundel, Prince George's) said, "It is a tremendous, gross disrespect to the community because he's marginalizing a group of people and basically saying, 'You don't matter, you don't count.'" 

 Hmm, is she talking about herself, Sen. Miller or Morgan Meneses-Sheets?

Yeah, Del. Pena-Melnyk, it sucks doesn't it?   Now you know how those of us who opposed your HB 235 that stripped public accommodations out of it and respectfully tried to have a civilized discourse with you about it felt when we were disrespected, belittled and yelled at by you.  


Neither do I feel good about being put in the position of having to openly root against a trans rights bill and advocate to kill it because it was so fracked up.


Now that you've and the EQ MD people tried removing public accommodations from a trans rights bill and it's about two weeks from deservedly dying in committee, can we go back next session or whenever y'all take up this issue again to try compiling a comprehensive trans civil rights bill that we can all get behind?

It's not a good idea to write civil rights legislation that beneifts a marginalized community based on being 'scurred' about what the Religious Reich will say about it.  

We transfolks already know what their game plan is.  They will lie, lie, lie and hope one of those lies is enough for y'all to be 'scurred' enough to water down the tough comprehensive rights bill we need   We hope and pray 'you legislative people' are smart enough not to fall for it.   

But alas, you and EQ Maryland fell for the Reicher okey doke.  Robert 'Android Marriage' Broadus and friends won before they even hopped in their cars to come to Annapolis to regurgitate that ridiculous testimony in front of your committee.


You now know what it's like to walk in our pumps.   Doesn't feel good does it?